M A N A G E D L A N E S Y S T E M P L A N

•BRIEFING BOOKLET•

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Georgia Department of Transportation

FORWARD

ManagedLanesareaninnovativesolutiontomanagingcongestionandprovideavaluablemobilityoption.Typesofmanagedlanesinclude,HighOccupancyVehicle(HOV),HighOccupancyToll(HOT),ExpressTollLanes(ETL),TruckOnlyLanes(TOL)andTruckOnlyTollLanes(TOT).Avariationofmanagedlaneswouldpreservemobilitychoicesbyapplyingtoolssuchaspricing,eli-gibility(occupancyand/orvehicletype)and/orlimitingsystemaccess.Inadditiontomobility,itistheexpectationoftheGeorgiaDepartmentofTransportation(GDOT)thatmanagedlaneswouldbeconsistentwithotherstategoalsandobjectivesincludingsafety,thecommunity,financialandhomelandsecurity. The Georgia Department of Transportation has devel-opedaManagedLaneSystemPlan(MLSP)forMetroAtlantathatwillutilizeandexpandthecurrentHOVsystemfootprint.The MLSP is the first system-wide evaluation of urban areamanagedlanesperformedintheUnitedStates. GDOThasrecognizedthatinsomelocationsitisnotfea-sibletoconstructadditionalgeneralpurposelanestomeetcur-rentandfutureneeds.Managedlanesolutionswouldpreservemobilitychoicesandprovidefinanciallyfeasibleimprovements.

Managed lanes are char-acterized by the proactive implementation of operational strategies designed to respond to changing travel conditions. Managed lane strategies seek to optimize efficiency, per-formance and throughput by offering travel time savings and reliability through the applica-tion of vehicle occupancy and eligibility restrictions, pricing, and access control.

GDOT has taken a comprehensive approach to itsevaluation of managed lanes for Metro Atlanta. Througha multi-step analysis process, a range of alternativeshas been studied to determine the optimal solution for a

Thisbriefingprovidesasummaryofthepurposeandintentofthemanagedlanesystemplan,thegoalsandobjectivesofmanagedlanes,thejustificationandbenefitsassociatedwithmanagedlanes,andtheevaluationframeworkandimplementationplanthatemergedfromthiseffort.

• Datacollection,includingtrafficcountsandsurveys• Identificationofcandidatecorridors• Trafficandrevenueanalysis• Conceptandoperationalanalysis• Socialandenvironmentalimpactanalysis• Financialfeasibility

regionalnetworkofmanagedlanes.Thisanalysisprocessincludedthefollowingsteps:

PURPOSE & INTENT

• Respondtotransportationneedswhichhaveoutpacedtraditionalrevenuesources

• Unitemanagedlaneinvestmentsintoacomprehensive“systemplan”framework

• Provideavaluableandreliablemobilityoption,inspiteofcongestion

• Leadandtacklepolicyandimplementationissues

Urbanareatrafficcongestionpresentsachallengetothecontinuedgrowthandeco-nomicprosperityoftheAtlantaregion.Futurejobcreationandeconomicdevelopmentareinextricablylinkedtoinvestmentintransportationinfrastructure,andinordertomaintainitscompetitiveedge,theremustbecontinuedfocusonimprovingMetroAtlanta’stranspor-tationnetwork. Theprovisionofmanagedlanesintheregionwouldensurethatmobilitywouldbepre-servedevenwithprojectedpopulationandemploymentgrowth.ThepurposeoftheMLSPistoprovideacomprehensiveroadmapforGDOTastheymoveforwardwiththisinnovativeapproachtourbanareamobility.Morespecifically,theMLSPseekstoaddressthefollowing:

M A N A G E D L A N E

• ProtectMobility -Increaseaveragetravelspeeds -Decreasedelay -Increaseaccesstomajoractivitycenters -Increasesystemefficiency

• MaximizePerson/VehicleThroughput -Increasethroughput -Decreasetraveltimevariations -Improvetransiton-timeperformance

• MinimizeEnvironmentalImpacts -Improveairquality/decreasepollutants -Minimizeimpacttothebuiltenvironment

• ProvideaFinanciallyFeasibleSystem -Leverageandoptimizepubliccashoutflows -Incorporateamarket-drivenapproachtocomplementtraditionalfundingsources

• DesignandMaintainaFlexibleInfrastructureforVaryingLaneManagement -Accommodatefuturelanemanagementpossibilities

Thereareseveralgoalsandobjectivesassociatedwithmanagedlanes.Thesecenteraroundthe ability of managed lanes to deliver travel time reliability and transportation choice in anefficientmanner.Notonlydomanagedlanesprovideamobilityoption,butalsoafundingflexibil-ityoptionthatoptimizespublicsectorresources.Detailedgoalsandobjectivesareshowninthelistbelow.

GOALS & OBJECTIVES

S Y S T E M P L A N

JUSTIFICATION & BENEFITS

AcutecongestioninMetroAtlantaposeschallengestoeconomiccompetitivenessandqualityoflife.Traditionalcapacityexpansionhasbecomeincreasinglyexpensive,andovertimethiscapacitycouldattractnewusersandultimatelyresultinmorecongestion. Thereisavaluethatpeopleplaceontheabilitytoreachtheirdestinationinare-ducedamountoftime. Currently, theexisting infrastructure inMetroAtlantadoesnotprovideasystemthatmeetsthatpeak-hourdemand.Implementingasystemofmanagedlaneswouldcreatethemeanstomeettransportationconsumers’demandforreliabletraveltime, every time.Managed lanes alsopermit somevehicles to utilize the lanes freeofchargeincluding:transitvehicles,vanpools,eligiblecarpools,motorcyclesandemergencyvehicles. Fundsgeneratedbytollingwilllikelynot cov-ertheentirecostofconstructionandtheongoingmaintenanceandoperationsofthemanagedlanessys-tem.Therevenuecollectedfromtollswilllikelybeappliedtowardaportionofthedebtforconstruc-tionandwillbeusedtomaintainandoperatethesystem. CurrentfundingconstraintsposeachallengetoGDOT.Withlimiteddollarsavailableforthecapi-taloutlaysrequiredformanagedlanes,itisimpor-tanttoconsiderinnovativefundingmechanisms. The use of non-traditional financingthrough Public-Private Partnerships (P3) is one

Managed lanes provide transporta-tion choice. Active management of these travel lanes results in guaran-teed travel times and reliability for users. Demand for additional gen-eral purpose lanes may eventually exceed capacity, but managed lanes can always provide a congestion-free alternative.

alternativewaytoadvancesomecorridors inthemanaged lanessystem.P3opensthedoortoacceleratedfinancing,design,construction,operationand/ormaintenanceofaproject. Atfullbuildoutthemanagedlanesystemhasapricetagof$16Billion,withtollrevenuesfinancing$9Billionofthisamount.Withacapitalcostof$16Billion,theStateofGeorgiawouldberesponsibleforalmosthalfthecostwhiletheotherhalfcouldbecoveredthroughforecasttollrevenues.

EVALUATION FRAMEWORK

EarlyoninthedevelopmentoftheMLSP,anevaluationframeworkwasestablishedtosys-tematicallystudythefullrangeofopportunityofferedbymanagedlanes.Withinthisframework,athree-tieredscreeningapproachwasdesignedtoarriveatonepreferredsolutionforeachcorridorinthemanagedlanenetwork.Thisprocesssoughtbalancebetweenthesystem-optimalsolutionandwhatwasbestforeachcorridor,recognizingthatindividualprojectswouldultimatelyworkinconcerttoprovidetransportationchoiceandimprovedmobilityonaregionalscale.

Level1:Featuresthatcanbeeliminatedonasystemwidebasis• Identificationofcandidatecorridors• Bi-directional&reversiblelaneopportunities• System-leveleligibilitypolicies• Maximumnumberofmanagedlanes• Managedlaneterminationpoints

Level2:Featuresthatcanbeeliminatedwithinaspecificcorridor• Truckeligibility&policyrecommendation• Analysisofbi-directionalvs.reversible

andat-gradevs.elevated• Logicalterminiandaccesslocation

analysis• Managedlanelocationanalysis(inside

vs.outside)• Analysisofbufferandbarrierseparation

Level3:Keyconceptsandfinancialtrade-offs

• Operatingandtollingpolicyrecommenda-tions&futureopportunities

• Ultimateandminimumtermini&accesslocations

• Ultimateandminimumoperationsconcept(elevated,reversible,etc.)

• Ultimateandminimumlaneconstructionconcept

Interchanges,number indicates tier

1Bi-DirectionalManagedLane

2Bi-DirectionalManagedLanes

1ReversibleManagedLane

2ReversibleManagedLanes

Elevated-Outside

1

IMPLEMENTATION, BY TIERTIER 1 + TIER 2

+ TIER 4

+ TIER 5

LEGEND

+ TIER 3

FUNDING GAP $7B

Fivetiersofprojectsemergedfromthescreeningprocess.Thesetiersstrikeabalanceamongsystembenefits,revenueandcosts,whilealsogeneratingacohesivenetwork.Thecriteriausedasabasisfordeterminingthetiersincluded:

CAPITAL COST $16B

FINANCEABLE AMOUNT $9B

SAVES THE REGION $47B IN REDUCED TRAFFIC DELAY, OVER 35 YEARS

ULTIMATE MANAGED LANES SYSTEM BUILD-OUT

•Easeofimplementation•Environmentalanalysisstatus•Designactivitiesunderway•Levelofpubliccontribution•Connectivity

SUMMARY

(NecessaryPublicSectorContribution)

(Amountsupportedbyprojectrevenues)

M A N A G E D L A N E S Y S T E M P L A N

GeorgiaDepartmentofTransportationOfficeofPlanning600WestPeachtreeStNW,Suite500Atlanta,GA30308Phone:404.631.1987